Want to Win in 2015? Find the Thankful Moments

First, Merry Christmas. Second, shame on you for using my column as your momentary escape from awkward families, sweaters and dinners. In 2015, if you want to win, find a way to be more thankful. I write this as I sit in first class aboard my 100th-plus flight of 2014. I also write this having leveraged the frequency of my flying moments to upgrade myself and a co-worker to the front of this Airbus. As we sat stuck, for about an hour past our original scheduled flight time, my co-worked leaned over and said, “I don’t have much issue with the delay sitting up here.” I then told him how No Limit used to always fly business class (thanks to an awesome program from AirTran). In the last year, we have provided a bunch of perks, nice dinners, travel, gifts and bonuses. While fun in the moment, I, as a leader, doubt those moments are remembered when an employee leaves No Limit. For me, as a leader, I desire to provide the moments that people remember and reflect on – thus, never burning a bridge and always leaving the door open to a return to No Limit. As the leader and employer of a company, I consciously try to find moments to show appreciation for my hard-working staff. Sure, steady raises, promotions and perks help solidify a long-term relationship, but a human “thanks” should help too. Very clearly, not all forms of thanks have to come in the form of something that costs money, sometimes it’s just in saying the words “thank you,” or “you mean a lot to this company.” When I started No Limit, I had big dreams of having a company that was the best place to work for in the world. We would have a “need it, take it” vacation policy. We would have a work-when-you-want and where-you-want mentality. We would have lunches and happy hours on a regular basis. We would have the best and most fun team in business. Those were my dreams. Unfortunately, many of those dreams changed because of the response from former staff. What I learned was that my dreams can’t be the end-all-be-all. As a leader, you must be a listener first. Even though I had all these grandiose ways to say thank you, they weren’t the forms of thanks my staff wanted. In today’s employee world, it’s not easy to impress. Resumes don’t feature long-term commitments and other employers are happy to share their “greener” grass. I don’t see my perks as perks of working at “No Limit”, I see them as necessary pieces to being an employer in today’s world. But, if you listen closely to those who you care about, you can find the right ways to say thank you. At the end of next year, the only thing that will stand between good and great will be a company’s people. I know this and respect this. Sure, my expectations are high and I would be a complete hypocrite to say it’s easy to work for me, but behind my tough protection of our clients, I greatly appreciate everyone who has, who does, and who will work for No Limit Agency*. With people standing in the way of greatness, in 2015, I will work hard as a human being, to listen more and find little wins to show appreciation to my hard-working team. I know that an idea is only good if you can build an army to support it. And I have a great army. To win in 2015, a little more thanks will go a very long way. That extra business class upgrade is good, but a thank you, handshake and a job well done means a whole lot more. I believe that those are the moments that are memorable. Be thankful next year, and have a Merry Christmas and  a good night.